A prominent national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization
today launched a national public service announcement (PSA) campaign
featuring Muslim 9/11 first responders and designed to challenge the
growing anti-Muslim bigotry in American society.
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CAIR's PSA campaign is also designed to offer an implicit
challenge to the Florida church that plans to burn copies of the Quran,
Islam's revealed text, on September 11.
CAIR '9/11 Happened to Us All' PSA, Firefighter (30-Second)
CAIR '9/11 Happened to Us All' PSA, Firefighter (60-Second)
CAIR '9/11 Happened to Us All' PSA, Medical Responder (30-Second)
CAIR 'We Have More in Common than We Think' PSA, Interfaith (30-Second)
The PSAs are also available at: www.thenewsmarket.com/CAIR (Registration is required.)
Two of the three PSAs, which will be distributed today and
tomorrow by satellite to television stations nationwide and online
through social media sites, feature Muslim first responders to the 9/11
terror attacks, with the theme "9/11 happened to us all." Copies of the
PSAs will also be mailed to selected television stations, with a focus
on stations in New York and Florida.
The third PSA features Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders
describing the "golden rule" as expressed by their respective faiths --
and ends with the phrase, "We have more in common than we think." That
PSA is designed to show the commonalities between faiths and to
challenge those who -- like the members of a Florida church who plan to
burn Qurans on September 11 -- would divide America along religious
lines.
A 2005 CAIR public service announcement (PSA) rejecting
terrorism and religious extremism and was seen by some 10 million
television viewers nationwide. That PSA, called "Not in the Name of
Islam," featured ordinary American Muslims stating "that those who
commit acts of terror in the name of Islam are betraying the teachings
of the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad."
SEE: CAIR 2005 'Not in the Name of Islam' PSA
Other national American Muslim organizations took part in the
news conference outlined each group's individual and joint initiatives
designed to promote religious freedom, challenge growing anti-Muslim
bigotry in American society and to mark the anniversary of the 9/11
terror attacks.
The other Muslim organizations that took part in the news conference included: (in alphabetical order)
- Coordinating Council of Muslim Organizations in the Washington Area (CCMO)
- Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA)
- MAS Freedom
Earlier this month, CAIR released an online toolkit
designed to help Muslim communities organize proactive local
educational and outreach initiatives tied to events such as a "National
Day of Unity and Healing" on the upcoming anniversary of the 9/11 terror
attacks.
SEE: 'Teachable Moment Community Response Guide' Toolkit
The toolkit, called a "Teachable Moment Community Response
Guide," offers guidance, tools and resources to help Muslim communities
respond to specific current events such as the end of Ramadan Eid
al-Fitr holiday occurring near September 11, the upcoming "Burn a Koran
Day" by a church in Florida, the anti-Muslim bigotry generated by the
smear campaign against a planned Islamic community center in Manhattan,
and the ongoing tension and misunderstanding surrounding the building or
expansion of mosques nationwide.
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy
organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam,
encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims,
and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
